Anime FairyTales
by calantian
Summary: Your favorite fairytales with a cast of your favorite anime characters.
1. Gingerbread Shippo

There was once a little old man and a little old woman, who lived in a little old house in the edge of a shrine. They would have been a very happy old couple but for one thing --they had no little child, and they wished for one very much. One day, when the little old woman was baking gingerbread. she cut a cake in the shape of a little kitsune and put it in to the oven.

Presently she went to the oven to see if it was baked. As soon as the oven door was opened, the the little gingerbread kitsune jumped out and began to run away as fast as he could go.

The little old woman called her husband, and they both ran after him. But they could not catch him. And soon the gingerbread kitsune came across a monk. He called out to him as he went by, saying:

I've run away from a little old woman,

a little old man,

And I can run away from you, I can!

Then the monk set out to run after him. But, though he ran fast, he could not catch the kitsune. And he ran on till he came to a field where a girl was riding a bicycle. He called out to her:

I've run away from a little old woman,

A little old man,

A monk,

And I can run away from you, I can!

Then the girl began to pedal after him, but she couldn't catch him. And he ran on till he came to a woman siting on the back of a youkai. He called out to her:

I've run away from a little old woman,

A little old man,

A monk,

A girl on a bike,

And I can run away from you, I can!

But, though the woman and youkai gave chase at once, she couldn't catch him. And soon he came to a dog demon. He called out to the dog demon:

I've run away from a little old woman,

A little old man,

A monk,

A girl on a bike,

A woman riding a youkai,

And I can run away from you, I can!

But the dog demon ran, and couldn't catch him. And he ran till he came across a wolf demon and to him he called out:

I've run away from a little old woman,

A little old man,

A monk,

A girl on a bike,

A woman riding a youkai,

A dog demon,

And I can run away from you, I can!

Then the wolf demon set out to run. Now this wolf demon had a shard of the shikon jewel in each leg so he ran very fast indeed. So the wolf demon soon caught the gingerbread kitsune and ate him up.


	2. Kikyo White & Kagome Red

A poor widow once lived in a little cottage with a garden in front. She had two children, one called Kikyo and the other Kagome and they were the sweetest and best children in the world, always diligent and always cheerful; but Kikyo was quieter and more gentle than Kagome. Kagome loved to run about the fields and meadows, and to pick flowers and catch butterflies; but Kikyo sat at home with her mother and helped her in the household, or read aloud to her when there was no work to do.

The two children loved each other so dearly that they always walked about hand in hand whenever they went out together, and when Kikyo said, "We will never desert each other," Kagome answered: "No, not as long as we live"; and the mother added: "Whatever one gets she shall share with the other." They often roamed about in the woods gathering berries and no beast offered to hurt them. On the contrary, they came up to them in the most confiding manner; the little hare would eat a cabbage leaf from their hands, the deer grazed beside them, the stag would bound past them merrily, and the birds remained on the branches and sang to them with all their might.

No evil ever befell them; if they tarried late in the wood and night overtook them, they lay down together on the moss and slept till morning, and their mother knew they were quite safe, and never felt anxious about them. Once, when they had slept all night in the wood and had been wakened by the morning sun, they perceived a beautiful child in a shining white robe sitting close to their resting-place. The figure got up, looked at them kindly, but said nothing, and vanished into the wood. And when they looked round about them they became aware that they had slept quite close to a precipice, over which they would certainly have fallen had they gone on a few steps further in the darkness. And when they told their mother of their adventure, she said what they had seen must have been the spirit that guards good children.

Kikyo and Kagome kept their mother's cottage so beautifully clean and neat that it was a pleasure to go into it. In summer Kagome looked after the house, and every morning before her mother awoke she placed a bunch of flowers before the bed. In winter Kikyo lit the fire and put on the kettle, which was made of brass, but so beautifully polished that it shone like gold. In the evening when the snowflakes fell their mother said: "Kikyo, go and close the shutters," and they drew round the fire, while the mother put on her spectacles and read aloud from a big book and the two girls listened and sat. Beside them on the ground lay their cat Buyo. and behind them perched a little black crow with its head tucked under its wings.

One evening as they sat thus cosily together someone knocked at the door as though he desired admittance. The mother said: "Kagome, open the door quickly; it must be some traveler seeking shelter." Kagome hastened to unbar the door, and thought she saw a poor man standing in the darkness outside; but it was no such thing, only a large white dog who poked his head through the door. Kagome screamed aloud and sprang back in terror, the cat began to hiss, the crow flapped its wings, and Kikyo ran and hid behind her mother's chair. But the dog began to speak and said: "Don't be afraid: I won't hurt you. I am half frozen, and only wish to warm myself a little."

"My poor dog," said the mother, "lie down by the fire, only take care you don't burn your fur." Then she called out: "Kikyo and Kagome, come out; the dog will do you no harm; he is a good, honest creature." So they both came out of their hiding-places, and gradually the cat and crow drew near too, and they all forgot their fear. The dog asked the children to beat the snow out of his fur, and they fetched a brush and scrubbed him till he was dry. Then the beast stretched himself in front of the fire, and growled quite happily and comfortably. The children soon grew quite at their ease with him, and led their helpless guest a fearful life. They tugged his fur with their hands, put their small feet on his back, and rolled him about here and there, or took a hazel wand and beat him with it; and if he growled they only laughed. The dog submitted to everything with the best possible good- nature, only when they went too far he cried: "Oh! children, spare my life! Sweet Kikyo and lovely Kagome, don't beat your lover so harshly."

When it was time to retire for the night, and the others went to bed, the mother said to the dog: "You can lie there on the hearth, it will be shelter for you from the cold and wet." As soon as day dawned the children led him out, and he trotted over the snow into the wood. From this time on the dog came every evening at the same hour, and lay down by the hearth and let the children play what pranks they liked with him; and they got so accustomed to him that the door was never shut till their white friend had made his appearance.

When spring came, and all outside was green, the dog said one morning to Kagome : "Now I must go away, and not return again the whole summer." "Where are you going to, dear dog?" asked Kagome. "I must go to the wood and hunt for the wicked little Jaken. In winter, when the earth is frozen hard, he is obliged to remain underground in his caves, for he can't work his way through the snow ; but now, when the sun has thawed the ice and warmed the ground, he comes to spy the land and steal what he can; what once falls into his hands and into his cave is not easily brought back to light." Kagome was quite sad over their friend's departure, and when she unbarred the door for him, the dog, stepping out, caught a piece of his fur in the door- knocker, and Kagome thought she caught sight of red cloth beneath it, but she couldn't be certain of it; and the dog ran hastily away, and soon disappeared behind the trees.

A short time after this the mother sent the children into the wood to collect firewood. They came in their wanderings upon a big tree which lay felled on the ground, and on the trunk among the long grass they noticed something jumping up and down, but what it was they couldn't distinguish. When they approached nearer they perceived a little green man with a wizened face dressed in a brown kimono. One of the sleeves of the kimono was jammed into a cleft of the tree, and the little man sprang about like a dog on a chain, and didn't seem to know what he was to do. He glared at the girls with his beady black eyes, and screamed out: "What are you standing there for? Can't you come and help me?"

"What were you doing, little man?" asked Kagome. "You stupid, inquisitive goose!" replied the man; "I wanted to split the tree, in order to get little chips of wood for my kitchen fire; those thick logs that serve to make fires for coarse, greedy people like yourselves quite burn up all the little food I need. I had successfully driven in the wedge, and all was going well, but the cursed wood was so slippery that it suddenly sprang out, and the tree closed up so rapidly that I had no time to take my sleeve out, so here I am stuck fast, and I can't get away; and you silly, smooth-faced, milk-and- water girls just stand and laugh! Ugh! what wretches you are!"

The children did all in their power, but they couldn't get the sleeve out; it was wedged in far too firmly. "I will run and fetch somebody," said Kagome. "Crazy blockheads!" snapped the man; "what's the good of calling anyone else? You're already two too many for me. Does nothing better occur to you than that?" "Don't be so impatient," said Kikyo, "I'll see you get help," and taking her scissors out of her pocket she cut off the end of his sleeve. As soon as the man felt himself free he seized a glowing pink jewel which was hidden among the roots of the tree, and muttered aloud: "Curse these rude wretches, cutting off a piece of my splendid kimono!" With these words he disappeared without as much as looking at the children again.

Shortly after this Kikyo and Kagome went out to get a dish of fish. As they approached the stream they saw something which looked like an enormous grasshopper springing toward the water as if it were going to jump in. They ran forward and recognized their friend the little green man. "Where are you going to?" asked Kagome; "you're surely not going to jump into the water?"

"I'm not such a fool," screamed the man. "Don't you see that cursed fish is trying to drag me in?" The little man had been sitting on the bank fishing, when unfortunately the wind had entangled his sleeve in the line; and when immediately afterward a big fish bit, the feeble little creature had no strength to pull it out; the fish had the upper fin, and dragged the man toward him. He clung on with all his might to every rush and blade of grass, but it didn't help him much; he had to follow every movement of the fish, and was in great danger of being drawn into the water. The girls came up just at the right moment, held him firm, and did all they could to disentangle his sleeve from the line; but in vain, sleeve and line were in a hopeless muddle. Nothing remained but to produce the scissors and cut the sleeve, by which a small part of it was sacrificed.

When the man perceived what they were about he yelled at them: "Do you call that manners, you toad- stools! to destroy a fellow's clothes? It wasn't enough that you shortened my sleeve before, but you must now needs cut off more of it. I wish you'd been in Edo first." Then he fetched a rusted sword that lay among the rushes, and without saying another word he dragged it away and disappeared behind a stone.

It happened that soon after this the mother sent the two girls to the town to buy needles, thread, cloth, and cord. Their road led over a heath where huge boulders of rock lay scattered here and there. While trudging along they saw a big bird hovering in the air, circling slowly above them, but always descending lower, till at last it settled on a rock not far from them. Immediately afterward they heard a sharp, piercing cry. They ran forward, and saw with horror that the eagle had pounced on their friend the little green man, and was about to carry him off. The tender-hearted children seized hold of the little man, and struggled so long with the bird that at last he let go his prey.

When the man had recovered from the first shock he screamed in his screeching voice: "Couldn't you have treated me more carefully? You have torn what remained of my once-splendid kimono all to shreds, useless, awkward hussies that you are!" Then he took a necklace made of claws and black beads and vanished under the rocks into his cave. The girls were accustomed to his ingratitude, and went on their way and did their business in town. On their way home, as they were again passing the heath, they surprised the man who sat fiddling with the jewel, necklace, and sword on an open space, for he had thought no one would pass by at so late an hour. The evening sun shone on the items, and they glanced and gleamed so beautifully that the children stood still and gazed on them.

"What are you standing there gaping for?" screamed the man, and his green face became scarlet with rage. He was about to go on with these angry words when a sudden growl was heard, and a large white dog trotted out of the wood. The man jumped up in great fright, but he hadn't time to reach his place of retreat, for the dog was already close to him. Then he cried in terror: "Dear dog-sama, spare me! I'll give you all my treasure. Look at these powerful magic items lying there. Spare my life! what pleasure would you get from a poor feeble little fellow like me? You won't feel me between your teeth. There, lay hold of these two wicked girls, they will be a tender morsel for you, as fat as young quails; eat them up, for heaven's sake." But the dog, paying no attention to his words, gave the evil little creature one blow with his paw, and he never moved again.

The girls had run away, but the dog called after them: "Kagome and Kikyo, don't be afraid; wait, and I'll come with you." Then they recognized his voice and stood still, and when the dog was quite close to them his skin suddenly fell off, and a beautiful young man stood beside them, all dressed in red. "I am a great lord's son" he said, "and have been cursed by that little demon Jaken, who had stolen three precious items from me, to roam about the woods as a white dog till his death should set me free. Now he has got his well-merited punishment."

Kagome married him and Kikyo his brother. The old mother lived for many years with her children and their husbands in the great castle, in the courtyard of which was a dry well which now brimmed with water. And while there were occasional battles with demons and spirits, most of their lives were lived peacefully and prosperously.


	3. GoldenCurls

Once upon a time, there was a very poor scribe whose worldly possessions were a tumbledown cottage, a wife, a troop of hungry children, and otherwise nothing but seven pence. So with these seven pence he bought himself a stout rope, and went into the forest to hang himself. He found a tall tree with a strong branch, threw the rope over it and began to tie a knot. Suddenly a lady all in gold stood before him, as if she had risen up out of the ground. "Scribe, stop that at once," she commanded.

The scribe was so frightened that he untied the rope, and the woman immediately disappeared. As soon as she was gone, he began to tie the rope around the branch again.

But the lady in gold reappeared at once, waved a threatening finger at him and snapped, "I told you to stop that, scribe!"

Again the scribe untied the rope, and started to make his way home. But on the way he thought to himself, "There's nothing left for me at home but to die of hunger anyway. I think I'd rather hang myself."

So again he found a good tree for hanging himself, and tied the rope around a branch. But the lady in gold was there at once, shaking with anger. "Why won't you listen to me, scribe?" she asked.

"What else can I do?" sighed the scribe. "I and my family are going to starve anyway."

"You will not starve," answered the lady in gold, "because I shall give you all the money you could possibly wish for. But in return, you must give me that thing which you have at home, and yet know not that you have."

The scribe could hardly believe his ears, or his eyes, when he saw the sack full of gold coins that the lady handed to him. He thanked her heartily and set off as fast as he could with the heavy sack.

"But don't forget your promise," called the lady in gold after him. "That which you have at home, yet know not that you have, belongs to me. In seven years I shall come to claim it."

"I know everything there is in my house," laughed the scribe. "If there's anything there I don't know about you're welcome to it." And off he went.

When the scribe got home he counted the sack of gold coins into a great heap. The family was overjoyed. "Our little Usagi has brought us luck," laughed the scribe's wife, and she showed her husband a beautiful little baby girl with golden hair and a crescent moon on her forehead. It was the scribe's baby daughter, who had just been born that day. The scribe was shocked and saddened. So that was the thing he had at home, which he had not known about!

Well, the years passed and Usagi grew into a beautiful little girl, the joy and sorrow of her parents. On her seventh birthday, a black coach stopped outside the cottage and the lady in gold stepped from it. "I have come for your little girl," she said, and led the girl to the coach. The parents and the other children begged her to relent, but the woman was not to be moved. The coachwoman cracked her whip and in a flash the carriage was gone.

They drove for a long, long time, through barren deserts and dark forests, until at last they reached a huge castle made out of crystal. "This castle is yours," said the lady in gold. "It has one hundred rooms, all of which you may enter freely, except the hundredth one. Do not enter that, or great evil will befall you. Remember! In seven years' time I shall visit you again." And with that, the lady in gold drove away.

In exactly seven years to the day the lady in gold returned in her carriage. "Have you been into the hundredth room?" was the first thing she asked.

"No, I haven't," replied Usagi honestly.

"You are a good, obedient girl. In seven years I shall return again, and if you have still obeyed me, I will make you the happiest of girls. But if you step inside that hundredth room, a fate more terrible than death will await you." With this threat the lady in gold rode off again for another seven years.

The seven years passed quickly, and the day came for the lady in gold to return. Usagi could hardly wait, for she was sure she would be rewarded in some marvelous way for her obedience. Then suddenly she heard strange and beautiful music, somehow reminding her of being under the sea. "Who can be playing so sweetly in my castle?" she wondered. Following the sounds up a twisting staircase, she came to the topmost room of the castle, the hundredth room, for that was where the music was playing. Without stopping to think she opened the door, and stood there staring, horrified at what she had done.

Inside, seven women in elegant rainbow hued dresses were sitting around a great table, and a eighth woman in green was standing looking down at her. "Usagi, Usagi, what have you done?" she cried, and her voice echoed like thunder around the stone chamber.

Usagi was so terrified that her heart missed several beats. "Whatever can I do?" she wailed.

"You must never, never tell a soul what you have seen in this room. That is the only way you may find forgiveness for what you have done."

Usagi closed the heavy door and went downstairs. Almost at once she heard the lady in gold's carriage rattling up. "What did you see in the hundredth room?" the woman snapped, for she knew at once what had happened.

Usagi shook her head and said nothing.

"Very well, if it's dumb you are then dumb you shall stay! From this moment on you will be able to speak to no one but me." And saying this the lady in gold drove Usagi out of the castle.

Usagi walked until she could go no further. She came to a beautiful green meadow, lay down on the grass and cried herself to sleep.

Now it happened that the young king of that land, who was out hunting, passed by the meadow and saw Usagi lying there asleep. She was so beautiful that he as once fell in love with her, and he didn't mind at all that she couldn't speak. He took her to his palace, where a few months later they were married. And so Usagi became a queen.

She lived very happily at the castle, and before a year had passed a little girl was born to her, who had pink hair and a crescent moon on her forehead. Everyone in the palace was delighted with their new princess.

But the very first night after the baby's birth, the terrible lady in gold appeared at Usagi's bedside, and said in a cruel voice, "Tell me what you saw in the hundredth room, or I'll kill your little girl."

Poor Usagi was terrified, but she remembered what the eigth woman had said: she must keep silent. So she just shook her head.

Then the woman seized the little baby, strangled her, and rubbed her blood on Usagi's lips, and vanished with the dead child.

In the morning everyone was horrified when they saw the blood on her face, and they wondered, "Surely she couldn't have eaten her own child?"

But the king did not accuse her and no one else dared to, and Usagi still could not speak.

Another year passed and a another little girl was born to Usagi. She had red hair and a crescent moon on her forehead. Everyone at the palace was delighted, but they were frightened too, lest the same terrible thing should happen as last time. So the king set a strong guard around Usagi's room, but to no avail.

During the night the lady in gold appeared again and said, "Tell me what you saw in the hundredth room, or I'll kill this girl too." Usagi was beside herself with grief, but she still only shook her head. The woman strangled the little girl, rubbed the blood on Usagi's lips, and vanished carrying the dead child.

Next day the palace was thrown into dismay by the news, and the kingdom in a rage wanted for Usagi to be burned at the stake. She wept and wept, but no one now felt the least bit sorry for her, except the king.

As they were leading her out beyond the city, the black carriage appeared again, and the lady in gold stepped out of it. "This is your last chance to tell me what you saw in the hundredth room," she cried. "Tell me, or they will most certainly burn you alive."

Usagi still just shook her head and said nothing.

The executioners tied Usagi to the stake and lit the fire beneath her. But just as the flames were starting to lick at her feet, the lady in gold suddenly became dressed in white, and called out, "Put out the fire! Please, hurry!"

Everyone was astonished, but the executioners quickly doused the flames. The lady in white went to her carriage, and out of it climbed two little girls, one with pink hair and one with red hair, both had a crescent moons on their foreheads.

She brought them to Usagi, saying, "By keeping silent so steadfastly, you have saved yourself, and you have also saved me, by delivering me from a terrible enchantment." With that she vanished.

Watching all this the king could hardly believe his eyes or ears, especially when Usagi finally spoke to him and told him the whole strange story. They rode straight back to the palace, and lived there long and happily together. The old scribe, his wife and all his children came to live with them, and all were blessed with the greatest happiness and good fortune.


End file.
